Velocipede



(No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 1.

E.'E.HARDY.'

VELOGIPEDE. I

310,441,409. Patented Nov. 25, 1890.

Wig. 5

. INVENTOR Emez-y E. Hal;

v (No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

E. E. HARDY.

VELOGIPBDB.

No. 441,409. Patented Nov. 25, 1890.

m o o 0% o {/0 Q 0 0L5 WITNESSES:

fUNITED STATESATENT OFFicE.

EHERY E; HARDY, OF NEWARK, NE\V JERSEY.

VELOCIPEDE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,409, dated November 25, 1890. Application filed March 26, 1890- Serial No. 345,403- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

7 ing the opposite ends of the belt togethen' in Fig.7, has on one or both sidesan out- Fig. 11 is a plan view of a belt having re- Be it known that I, EMERY E. HARDY, a citi cessed portions along the longitudinal edges zen of the United States, residing at Newark, of the same, and Fig. 12 is still another method 5 in the county of Essex and State of New J erof securing the ends. Fig. 13 is a side view 5 sey, have invented certain new and useful Imof a seat-frame made from spring-wire, and

provements in Velocipedes; and I do hereby Fig. 14 is a top view of the same. declare the following to be a full, clear, and In the above-described views similar referexact description of the invention, such as ence-let-ters designate corresponding parts into will enable others skilled in the art to which it all the figures.

1o appertains to make and use the same, refer- In the accompanying drawings, A desigv ence being had to the accompanying drawnates the main frame, which consists of a fork ings, and to letters of reference marked therea, provided at or near the lower ends of the on, which form a part of this specification. prongs with backwardly-projecting arms of, 65

The present invention relates to improve between which is .supported in a convenient 15 ments in velocipedes or other similar motors; manner a wheel B. To the upper end of the and theinvention consists in novel combinafork a is attached a steering-head C, consisttions' of parts and details of constructions ing of a spring-actuated lock-plate c, on one hereinafter described, and finally embodied end of which is pivotally secured a spine or 70 in the several clauses of the claim. rib D, provided with a steering-wheel E, said In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is spine also being provided with the steeringa side elevation of a machine embodying my handles f, and a means attached to one of the invention provided with a spine or rib athandles for holding the spine in its locked tached to the main frame, and which is proengagement with the lock-plate c at any de- 75 vided with a joint to receive a rotary Inovesirable angle.

ment from the steering-head. Fig.2 is aver- The driving or balance wheel G is jourtical section of a ball-and-socket joint emnaled in bearings in the lower extremities of I ployed on the spine illustrated in Fig. 1; and the fork to, which may be of any suitable Fig. 3 is a section through line 00 in Fig. construction, in such a manner that said 80 looking in the direction of arrow 00'. Fig. 4 wheel is entirely suspended above the level is a top view of the spine provided with a of the ground. forked swivel-joint in place of the ball-and- The fiy-wheel or balance-wheel consists, as socket joint and showing part of the steerhere shown, of an outer rim 9 of any desiraing-head provided with handles and a means ble weight, which is secured to a smaller and 85 for looking or holding said head and the spine concentrically-arranged wheel g by means of 3 5 at any desired angle and Fig. 5 is a side view the crossed spokes g Said wheel g is proof the spine, illustrating the construction of vided on its circumference with an upwardlythe forked swivel-joint in vertical section, and extending rim g having perforations g and also showing the locking device and means the spokes g are bent to form a V,'being 90 for operating the same. On Sheet 2, Fig. 6, passed through lugs or projections g on the 40 is a sectional front view of the fork and the inner side of the rim 9 and the endsg and steering-head to illustrate more clearly the 9 being passed on opposite sides through the manner of connecting the spring actuated perforations in the rim 9 on thewheel g, and lock-plate to the forked frame of the machine. firmly secured thereto by means of nuts or 5 Fig. 7 is a side view of the fly or balance in any other convenient manner. Said spokes wheel shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 8 is a vertig are crossed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 7, cal section of the steering-wheel shown in whereby'the inner and smaller wheel is firmly the same view. Figs. 9 and 10 are a plan and and securely held in its proper place within end view, respectively, of a belt made from the larger wheel. The small wheel 9, which too sheet metal, used in connection with the mamay be provided with the ordinary wire 5o chine, provided with a central row of perfospokes usually employed in velocipedes, or rations and illustrating one method of securwith spokes cast directly to the rim, as shown whereby the power from the driving or fly wheel is communicated to the wheel B. The ends of said belt are hook-shaped for securing them together, as in Fig. 12; or an ordinary link h as shown in Fig, 9, may be used for connecting the-ends of the belt. A fender a is shown above the chain or belt in Fig. 1 secured to the main frame in any convenient-manner.

The driving or fiy wheel G is operated by means of treadles i, adjustably secured in a collar 2" by means of a post, said collar being situated on curved arms 2' which are conve'niently pivoted to the arms a of the main frame, and links 11 communicate the power from said arms to'the-cranks 2', attached to the 'fiy-wheel shaft.

0n opposite sides of the fiy-wheel and secured to the fork are arms a and a, provided withasocket-a', in which is adjustably arranged a saddle or seat J. The frame to which said saddle is securedconsists, essentially, of a single piece of spring-wire j bent, as shown in Figs. 13 and l4',into loops j, and the free ends j of the wire are secured in any convenient manner to a plate j", having a post ,7' loosely arranged in the socket a, and held in position therein by means of a setscrew. vAs shown in Fig. 1, oneof the arms a may be provided with an upwardly-projecting socket a or other similar means, to receive the end of an umbrella or sunshade handle.

Near the upper end of the fork a is secured an arm 70, having a handle It, which is provid'ed with downwardly-projecting fingers W,

bear-ing rollers Ze preferably of hard rubber, which can be forced against the rim of the fly-wheel, thereby serving to slacken or stop the'motion of said wheel. Aspring serves to return the arm'k to its normal position when 'not in operation.

As illustrated moreespecially in Figs. 1, 4, 5, and :6, the steering-headC is secured to the fork to by means of a hollow post 0, formed on the under side .of the plate 0, which extends down into asocket a on the upper end of the 'fork, a spring c being placed within said parts to give an easy motion when riding over rough roads. The post 0 is provided with a projection 0 working in a slot 0 to prevent the rotation or turning of saidparts, as will be understood.

'Within a swivel-ring 0 adapted to turn on a pin 0 in a perforation in the plate 0, is secured oneend of the spine or rib'" D, proto the under side, by means move in the same vertical plane.

j ecting therethrough over and above the plate 0, and being provided at its end with the handle-bars f. The spine or rib consists of two parts, one of which, as d, is provided with the handles f and is connected with the steering-head C, as has been described, and the other end d, which is curved to approximately correspond with the curvature of the drive or fly wheel, is provided at its lower extremity with a steering-wheel and is secured to the main frame by two arms a and a provided with eyes or rings a and a, within which said spine can rotate about its vertical axis. The ends of the parts cZ and (Z may be pivotally secured to one another by means of a ball-and-socket joint 0Z as shown in Figs 1, 2, and 3, or by means of the forked swivel-joint illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

The following is adescription of the balland-socket joint: The end of the part d of the spine is provided with a ball d having a narrow neck (Z Said ball is placed Within an elongated half-shell 0Z on the part d, and a plate 6Z6, provided with a correspondingly shaped shell (Z is secured thereto, preferably of screwsor bolts, thus forming an entirely closed casing around the ball 0Z having a lateral slot d in which the neck of the ball can freely move.

In Figs. 4 and 5 is shown a swivel-joint, in

which the part'cZ of the spine is slotted on the.

end and is provided with a roller CZ. The other part cZ' of the spine is provided with fingers d and Cl, to which is pivotally attached, by means of ,a bolt (Z said'part d, said bolt being adapted to slide in slots d in the fingers (Z10 and (Z When the part (Z of the spine has been caused to be rotated to one side, the roller oZ engages with the inner side of one of the prongs (Z on the part (1, cansing said part to rotate in its bearings on the arms of and a and thereby bringing the steering-Wheel into the desired direction for steering the machine.

The operations of the steering andits'lock- Q ing device are as follows: When the machine is being operated by means of the treadles and is moving in a straight direction, a pin Z is in engagement with a centrally-arranged perforation or hole 0 near the front edge of the plate 0, and the spine is thus held or locked, and all the wheels of the machine Now,when it becomes necessary to turn the machine to either side of the direction in which 'it is moving, I have provided a lever Z, pivotally secured above one of the handles f, which when depressed moves a bell-crank Z and by means of a link Z the arm Z, secured in bearings on the end dot the spine, and the pin Z, which passes and extends through a perforation in said end (1, is raised out ofthe hole 0 in the plate 0,

I thus allowing the handles f to be turned in either direction, either tothe right or left, and the pin Z can be dropped into any of the other holes 0 in said plate c.

When the part cZ has been operated by means of the handles, the movement of the ball in the joint connecting the parts d and d in the spine forces the part d to one side, causing the same to rotate in its bearings and bringing the steering-wheel into the desired direction. When the pin Z has been inserted into one of the holes 0 either to the right or left of the central axis of the machinejand allowed to remain therein, then the spine and its wheel will be held at an angle until said pin Z is brought back to its original position by means of the locking device.

The steering-wheel E may be of any wellknown construction, or I may use the constructionshown in Fig. 8. In said construction the wheel consists of two rims or fellies e and 6, arranged to run parallel with each other. From their common hub e extend thespokes 6 connected at their free ends by means of a joint or connecting-piece e ,which is Y-shaped, and on the opposite end of said piece spokes e and e are arranged, one of which, as 6 is secured to the rim 6, while the spoke a is secured to the rim 6'. Thus I have obtained a double wheel having a common hub, whereby a very strong wheel is the result, and, furthermore, said rims e and e, being quite close together, act to produce a single wheel.

Another advantage obtained is that when the rider dismounts the machine is caused to remain in a standing position, thereby avoiding the necessity of supporting the same against some other object.

To prevent the jarring motion of the machine when passing over rough roads, I have arranged on the spine aspiral spring m, which encircles the same and rests upon the upper side of the bearing a on the arms a a collar m being securedto the spine by means of a set-screw above said spring. A second collar m may be arranged above the bearing a l on the arm a to stop the down movement of the rib or spine, when necessary. Thus it will be seen that the spring m on the spine acts in conjunction with the spring a in the steering-head, and a free and easy motion of the machine is the result.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a velocipede or similar motor, a main frame provided with a forked arm, having arranged therein a fly or driving wheel, the rim of which is connected by means of spokes with the felly of the fly-wheel, and said inner wheel suspended on an axle above the ground, said wheel being provided with a concentrically-arranged inner wheel having pins or projections thereon, and means serving to transmit power from said inner wheel to the axle of the driven wheel, for the purposes set forth.

2. In a velocipede or similar motor, a main frame, a steering-wheel attached to a jointed spine or rib,-consisting of two parts connected by a ball-and-socket joint or its equivalent,

a rear wheel mounted in hearings in arms on the main frame, an intermediately-arranged fly-wheel suspended in the main frame above the ground, a concentrically-arranged drivingwheel, and means on said driving-wheel connected with and adapted to communicate the rotary motion of said wheel to the rear wheel, for the purposes set forth. I

3. In a velocipede or similar motor, a main frame, a steering-wheel attached to a spine or rib adapted to rotate in bearings in the main frame, said spine consisting of two parts connected by means of a ball-and-socket joint or its equivalent, a rear wheel mounted in bear ings in arms on the main frame, an interme diately-arranged driving-wheel suspended in v the main frame above the level of the ground,

and means on'said driving-wheel connectingwith and adapted to communicate the rotary motion thereof to the rear wheel, for the pur poses set forth.

4. In a velocipede or similar motor, a main frame, a steering-wheel attached to'a spine or rib adapted to rotate in bearings in the main frame, said spine beingprovided with a spring encircling the same between said bearings and consisting of two parts connected by means of a ball-and-socket joint or its equivalent, a rear wheel mounted in bearings in arms on the main frame, a driving-wheel mounted vin a fork in said main frame, and a steering device at the upper end of said fork, for the purposes set forth.

5. In a velocipede or similar motor, a main frame, a steering-wheel attached to a spine or rib adapted to rotate in bearings in the main frame, said spine'consisting of two parts connected by means of a ball-and-so'cket joint or its equivalent, a rear wheel mounted in hearings in arms on the main frame, an intermediately=arranged driving-wheel suspended in a fork in the main frame above the level of the ground, a drive belt or chain for communicating the power of said wheel to the axle of the rear Wheel, a steering-head provided with a handle-bar for transmitting the power from the same to the spine and its wheel, and means on said steering-head 'for locking the parts thereof with the fork on the main frame, and thereby holding the steer ing-wheel and its spine at the desired angle, for the purposes set forth. 7

6. In a velocipede or similar motor, a main frame, a steering-wheel attached to aspine or rib adapted to rotate in bearings in the main frame, said spine consisting of two parts projections, said rim being secured by means of spokes to the felly of the outer wheel, as setforth v, i i

8 The hereindescribed driving-wheel, con: sisting' of an inner Wheel having a laterallyprojecting' flange providedwith pins or pro jections. and an 11pwardly projecting flange surroundingits rim. and to which a second wheelissecured by means of crossed spokes,

. 9.,,The combination, with thedriving and steering wheels and a main frame, of a curved spineconsisting of twoparts connected by means of ,a ball-andsocket joint .or its equivalent, the ripper, part of saidispinebeing, at

tached to the top of the main frame by means of. a swivel-bearing, steering-handles at the upper end of th'e spine, and means for holding said spine in its locking engagement with thetopjo'f the main frame, for the purposes set forth. I r v V 10. The combination, with the driving and steering Wheels and a main frame, of a curved spine or rib consisting of two parts connected by means of a ball-and-socket joint or its equivalent, the lower part of said spine being, secured in bearings in arms on the main frame and adapted to rotate therein, the upper part of said spine being attached by means of aswivel-joint to a plate on the main frame, steering-handles on the upper end of said spine, a pin passing through said part of the spine and extending down intoa perforation in said plate ,to which the spine is pivoted, and means for raising and lowering said pin from and into the perforations, thereby allowing the spine to be forced to one side and to rotate in its bearings on the main frame, andc'ausing said pin to drop into another perforation to lock the spine in the desired position, as set forth.

-11. In a velocipede, the combination with the main frame, of a spine or rib pivoted to said frame and provided with a plate 0, and

means operated fromthe steering-handles to look the steering-head in any desirable posi- I tion, for the purposes set forth.

12; The combination, with the driving- Wheel and a fork in which the same is mounted, of a steering device consisting of a plate 0, having a hollow post on its under side, adapted to reciprocate within a socket on the top of the fork and provided. with a spring therein, a rib or spine .provided with a wheel pivotally secured tosaid plate c, and means oper-- ated from one of the steering-handles to lock the steering-head, for the purposes set forth.

pivoted to said plate and provided at its up-v per end with the handles f, lever Z, bell-crank Z link Z arm Z, secured in bearingspn the spine or rib, and. pin Z, passing through a perforation in said spine and engaging with holes or perforations in the plate 0, for the purposes set forth, V

15, The combinatiomwith a driving-wheel and a fork in, which thesameis suspended,

of a brake,mechanismconsistingof asp ringactuated arm pivoted to said fork, having a handle, and having two arms, or fingers provided with rollers adapted to be forceddown upon the periphery of the driving-wheel, as andfor the purposes set forth.

16.. In a velocipede or similar motor,.in eom bination, a main frame, a steering-wheel at: tached to a spine or rib adapted to rotate in bearings in the main frame, a spring encircling said spine, said spine consisting of two parts connected by means of a ball-and-socket joint or its equivalent, a rear wheel mounted in bearings in arms in the main frame, an intermediately-arranged fiy or balance wheel suspended in a fork in the mainframe on a crank-axle driven by means of propelling-levers having adjustable pedals and links se= cured to the frame, making connectionsbetween said crank-axle and the propellinglevers, means for communicating the power of the fly or balance wheel to a-rear wheel, and

a steering-head provided with steering-ham dles, and a looking or holding device for hold-.

ing the spine and its steering-wheel at; the desired angle, for the purposes set forth.

17. The herein-described velocipede-frame,

having a forked arm provided with backwardly-extending arms having a socket for the reception of a saddle or seat therein and provided with a support for a sunshade or socket and umbrella, arranged between said the forked arm, as set forth. I

l8. Thecombination, with the fork and driving-wheel, of a spine or rib adapted to rotate in bearings on arms extending from said fork and being provided with a spring encircling said spine between said bearings, said spine being pivoted to a spring-actuated plate on the fork, whereby said spring on theispine acts in conjunction with a spring above said fork, for the purposes set forth. I j 1 19. The jointed rib or spine consisting of the parts at and d, said part 01 having a ball end which fits intoan oblong socket on pocket in the part d, provided with a removable plate, and a slot in the end of said oblong socket, inwhich slides the neck of the ball on thepart d, and whereby the upper and lower extremities of the portion (1" of the spine may move in horizontal planes, While that portion between the bearings on the main frame of the machine rotates about its vertical axis, as and for the purposes set forth.

20. In avelocipede or similar motor, in combination, a main frame, a steering-wheel attached to a rib or spine adapt-ed to rotate in bearings in the main frame, a rear wheel mounted in bearings in arms a on the main frame, an intermediately-arranged driving- Wheel mounted on the main frame on a crank axle, propelling mechanism consisting, essen- Witnesses:

FREDK. O. FRAENTZEL, WM. H. OAMFIELD. 

